Fan Marty Gear (b.1940) died on July 18. Gear began attending Worldcons in 1953. Gear became a costumer and helped build up the Masquerade at Balticon and chaired CostumeCon 3. He also chaired Balticon 21 and was a Guest of Honor at Genericon 2, Arisia 9, and Balticon 30. Gear sat on the BSFS Board of Directors. He founded what would become the first International Costumers’ Guild chapter and in 1991, Gear received the ICG Lifetime Achievement Award.